Fire resistant panel with structural inserts

ABSTRACT

A fire resistant panel includes a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity. The sandwich structure has a top, a bottom and opposed ends. Cement posts are positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, in a substantially vertical orientation extending between the top and the bottom. A cement beam is positioned along the top of the central cavity, supported by the cement posts. Rigid foam insulation fills a remainder of the central cavity, with the cement posts and cement beam providing enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to fire resistant panel with structural inserts, which are adapted to prevent collapse of the panel in the event of a fire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Canadian Patent Application 2,498,562 filed Feb. 25, 2005 entitled “Fire resistant rigid foam construction panel,” describes a panel that is highly resistant to fire. However, even fire resistant panels deteriorate when exposed to fire and will eventually collapse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a fire resistant panel, which includes a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity. The sandwich structure has a top, a bottom and opposed ends. Cement posts are positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity. The cement posts are in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom. A cement beam is positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts. Rigid foam insulation fills a remainder of the central cavity, and the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a wall constructed with a fire resistant panel fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, in section, of the fire resistant panel illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the fire resistant panel illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the fire resistant panel illustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment, a fire resistant panel generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 4.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown fire resistant panel 10, including a first sheet 12 and a second sheet 14. Sheets 12 and 14 are made from fire resistant material such as magnesium oxide, calcium silicate or cement, and are positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure 16 with a central cavity 18 that has a top 20, a bottom 22 and opposed ends 24 and 26. Referring to FIG. 3, cement posts 28 made from reinforced concrete are positioned in spaced relation in central cavity 18, with cement posts 28 being in a substantially vertical orientation between top 20 and bottom 22 of central cavity 18. Referring to FIG. 2, a cement beam 30 also made from reinforced concrete is positioned along top 20 of central cavity 18 and is supported by cement posts 28 (the position of which is shown by dotted lines). Since joints reduce the overall strength, cement beam 30 is preferably formed as a continuous header for as much of the structure that panels 10 will be used to construct to improve the strength of the structure.. A rigid non-combustible foam insulation 31, such as glass insulation, fills the remainder of central cavity 18, such that cement posts 28 and cement beam 30 provides enhanced structural stability to sandwich structure 16. As shown, in FIG. 4, opposed end 24 has a non-combustible male connector 32 and opposed end 26 has a female connector 34, whereby sandwich structure 16 may be connected in end to end relation with all joints having a non-combustible backing provided by male connector 32.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a bottom plate 36 is positioned at bottom 22 of sandwich structure 16. Bottom plate 36 includes means (not shown) for mechanical attachment of bottom plate 36 to an underlying structure. Foam panel 10 may then be attached to bottom plate 36 by inserting fasteners 39 through sheets 12 and 14, as needed. It is preferable that bottom plate 36 also be made from a non-combustible material.

Referring to FIG. 4, to increase the rigidity of sandwich structure 16, strips of non-combustible sheet material 40 may be positioned transversely on end across central cavity 18 between first sheet 12 and second sheet 14. Reinforcing strips 40 may be made from the same sheet material as first sheet 12 and second sheet 14, only cut into strips.

Operation:

The use of foam panel 10 will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4. Referring to FIG. 1, foam panel 10 is prepared attaching bottom plate 36 to an underlying structure. Cement posts 28 are positioned within sandwich structure 16 formed from sheets 12 and 14, with cavity filled with foam glass insulation 31. Joints 35 of sandwich structure 16 are connected by non-combustible male connector 32 and female connector 34 such that all joints 35 have a non-combustible backing. Foam panel 10 is then positioned on bottom plate 36, and fasteners 39 are inserted to anchor it to bottom plate 36. Cement beam 30 is then formed as a continuous header on top of panel 10. This will also tie in sheets 12 and 14 at the top of panel 10. Using this technique, non-combustible foam panel 10 is provided that has integral cement supports, such that, in the event of foam panel 10 deteriorating in a fire, cement posts 28 and cement beam 30 will still provide support to the overall structure.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims. 

1. A fire resistant panel, comprising; a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity, the sandwich structure having a top, a bottom and opposed ends; cement posts positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, with the cement posts being in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom; a cement beam positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts; and a rigid foam insulation filling a remainder of the central cavity, such that the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.
 2. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the non-combustible material of the first sheet and the second sheet is one of magnesium oxide, calcium silicate or cement.
 3. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the cement beam and the cement posts are made from reinforced concrete.
 4. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the rigid foam insulation is non-combustible foam glass.
 5. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein a bottom plate is positioned at the bottom of the sandwich structure.
 6. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 5, wherein the bottom plate includes means for mechanical attachment of the bottom plate to an underlying structure.
 7. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein strips of non-combustible sheet material are positioned transversely on end across the central cavity between the first sheet and the second sheet to increase the rigidity of the sandwich structure.
 8. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein all joints have non-combustible backing.
 9. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, where one of the opposed ends has a male connector and another of the opposed ends has a female connector, whereby the sandwich structure is connected is end to end relation.
 10. A fire resistant panel, comprising: a first sheet and a second sheet made from one of magnesium oxide, calcium silicate or cement positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity, the sandwich structure having a top, a bottom and opposed ends; cement posts made from reinforced concrete positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, with the cement posts being in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom; a cement beam made from reinforced concrete positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts; and a rigid non-combustible foam glass insulation filling a remainder of the central cavity, such that the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure; one of the opposed ends has a non-combustible male connector and another of the opposed ends has a female connector, whereby the sandwich structure is connected is end to end relation with all joints having a non-combustible backing provided by the male connector.
 11. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 10, wherein a bottom plate is positioned at the bottom of the sandwich structure.
 12. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 11, wherein the bottom plate includes means for mechanical attachment of the bottom plate to an underlying structure.
 13. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 10, wherein strips of non-combustible sheet material are positioned transversely on end across the central cavity between the first sheet and the second sheet to increase the rigidity of the sandwich structure. 